Damien Chazelle Says His Next Film ‘First Man’ Isn’t a Biopic

Damien Chazelle may be the hottest young director working today, and his most exciting project is on the horizon. With films like Whiplash and La La Land under his belt, it’s hard to think of something that can top those, but that’s where First Man comes into play. We’ve seen plenty of incredible films about space travel, many of which are biopics. So what makes myself and others believe that Chazelle’s film could become one of those films? The fact that it won’t be your everyday, star-gazing story.

Josh Singer (Spotlight) is responsible for the script for First Man, and while speaking with the Boston Globe, he had this to say about Chazelle’s direction:

“Damien had a very clear vision from the outset. He said, ‘Can we get across how challenging this was? Can we get across the visceral nature of this?’ The space program has been depicted, tonally, on the softer side in the past.”

Chazelle, who has been hard at work on the film since La La Land wrapped up its tour back in 2016, said the following about his film and how it’s much more than just your basic biopic:

“This is 100 percent a mission movie. It’s about going to the moon as seen through the eyes of the guy who got there,” Singer said. “We have at least five major set pieces that are action, and if your heart rate doesn’t go through the roof, if you’re not gripping the edge of your seat the entire times, I’ll be shocked.”

With Ryan Gosling playing Neill Armstrong in the film, it’s hard to believe that the story won’t focus, at least a little bit, on his personal life, but it sounds like Chazelle is crafting quite the exhilarating experience. With how invested I was in both Whiplash and La La Land, I can’t freaking wait to see the kind of “mission movie” that Damien creates. I’m always in for a pure space travel film, and everything so far sounds like that’s exactly what we’ll be getting.

Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, and Pablo Schreiber will star alongside Gosling, where the film will make its round at the film festival circuit this year before being released on October 12th.